Calexico are to release their first album in four years titled ‘Algiers’ on Septemeber 11. The album takes it’s name from a neighbourhood of New Orleans found on the West bank of the Mississippi River which escaped most of the flooding duing 2005. It’s also an area that is home to many churches and it was a converted one that served as a home for Calexico core duo Joey Burns and John Convertino who relocated there with co-producer Craig Schumacher to record the bulk of the sessions that make up the album.
“The place is strong and bold, soulful to the core, but surrounded by a sea of darkness,” Burns says of New Orleans. “There’s something creepy and old on the edge of town and written throughout the town’s histories. Those kinds of aesthetics help with the writing.”
Other influences are embedded within Algiers, as well. ‘No Te Vayas’ is a collaboration between long-time Calexico member Jacob Valenzuela and Jairo Zavala of Depedro, and the trumpet-embellished drama of ‘Sinner In The Sea’ reflects Burns’ desire “to map out a song that wed our west coast roots to our experience working in Havana with Amparo Sanchez a few years ago.”
The first single to be released from the album is ‘Para’ which you can watch the video for below:
Track List:
01. Epic
02. Splitter
03. Siinner in the Sea
04. Fortune Teller
05. Para
06. Algiers
07. Maybe on Monday
08. Puerto
09. Better and Better
10. No Te Vayas
11. Hugh
12. The Vanishing Mind
Release Date US: 2012-09-11 (Anti-)
Release Date EU: 2012-09-10 (Drag City)